The banking industry has had a rough couple of years, squeezed by regulatory demands and razor-thin margins and the specter of consolidation ever looming. But bankers – Massachusetts bankers, particularly – still see the need in their communities and manage to give a little back to the least fortunate.
OK, “a little” might be modest, but banks don’t typically seek out attention for their charitable giving. Massachusetts bankers gave more than $61 million to charitable causes last year, according to a survey the Massachusetts Bankers Association conducted across its 175-member banks this spring, spokesman Bruce Spitzer said.
The last time the organization surveyed its members on this subject, about five years ago, member banks had given around $40 million to charity.
“It’s quite a good record, if we may say so ourselves, especially in light of the fact that we’ve been a consolidating industry for the past 20-plus years,” Spitzer said.
The association itself gave away 33 gifts totaling $145,000 this year through its charitable foundation, an annual move that Spitzer says is merely symbolic of what the industry as a whole can do. In the 17 years since its formation, the foundation has donated around $1.7 million to food pantries, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs and health organizations.
“Everybody at this time of year wants to do something to make a difference,” said Blake Jordan, executive director of the Highland Street Foundation. “We know the economy is doing better and things are looking better, but a lot of people out there could use some support, whether it’s helping them find a place to live or helping with health concerns or a meal on the table.”
In 2009, the Highland Street Foundation, along with the Boston Foundation and the Eos Foundation, collaborated to form MassNeeds, a collaborative effort to raise awareness and funds for charitable organizations across the Bay State.
This year, the consortium of 51 private and public foundations and corporations funneled more than $13 million into programs aimed at alleviating hunger, homelessness and poverty in Massachusetts.
“It used to be that there would be a blip every few years. Prices would jump, and we’d have a blip,” said Allison Bauer, program director of health and wellness at the Boston Foundation. “Now what we have is an ongoing steady state of not enough affordable rental housing. If you spend more than you should on housing, then you have to spend less on food.”
“It’s like Whac-A-Mole. You make progress on one thing but not on another,” she said.
And Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, said demand has been on the increase since the 2008 recession. Today, the organization feeds approximately 90,000 people every week.
“The business community in Boston is very generous, from small to large financial institutions,” she said. “We find many banks have a very local community focus. … As they get larger, they tend to have similar efforts, but they’re focused more largely by region or nation.”
‘You Understand Where The Needs Are’
Community banks are uniquely poised to act on the needs they see in their communities.
“Banks thrive when communities thrive,” said Nancy Stager, executive vice president of human resources and charitable giving at Eastern Bank.
Eastern Bank donates 10 percent of its net income every year to charitable groups and last year, logged about 43,000 hours of volunteer time among its 1,700 employees, she said.
“One of the beauties of being in a community bank is you know the communities you operate in. You understand where the needs are,” said Hal Tovin, COO of Belmont Savings Bank.
Besides its charitable foundation, the bank also created an Education Rewards checking account, which donates 25 basis points of all the dollars held in those accounts back to the school system every year.
Salem Five Bank focuses its giving on three primary areas: economic self-sufficiency, workforce development and financial literacy, Chief Marketing Officer Martha Acworth said.
“Those are really the three areas you would expect and want a bank in your community to take responsibility for, but it’s not to say that we don’t give to the occasional heart walk or arts and culture,” Acworth said.
One notable program is the Financial Literacy Youth Education Resource Specialists, or FLYERS, Acworth said. The bank also partners with Boys’ and Girls’ clubs, the local YMCA and the Plummer Home.
“It’s how we were founded, it’s who we are. It’s not even a thought of why do it, it’s just part of our DNA,” Acworth said.
Email: lalix@thewarrengroup.com
